No matter being in this special world, as if trapped in a dream, distinguishing between reality and illusion becomes difficult.
No matter having already forgotten that she is currently a player, forgotten that this is just a testing space, forgotten that she possesses skills, equipment, and has a master...
Yet, upon seeing Ye Shenshen for the first time, Jun Beibei couldn't help but feel her heart flutter.
That feeling was very strange.
She felt she should know this boy from before, not just know, but be very familiar, more than familiar, perhaps some peculiar feelings had formed...
This feeling drove Jun Beibei to approach this sea cucumber, without any reservations, to disclose the truth she discovered about the world to him, ultimately leading them to this point.
She was very thankful for having such an intuition at that time.
Also thankful that they've come to this point, on the verge of leaving this suffocating world.
She felt a bit timid, but more excited.
Her heart beat incessantly, compelling her to speak words that in usual times, she'd never utter.
As the words fell, she saw the sea cucumber above, with a hint of surprise, turned to look at her.
This made Jun Beibei anxious for a moment, clutching the soft flesh of his spine tighter unconsciously.
Like a criminal awaiting judgment, nervous to the point her breathing retreated, yet Jun Beibei still tried hard to lift her head, looking up at his face.
She saw him smile, his smile bathed in the light above, looked very beautiful.
Ye Shenshen chuckled softly, shook his head,
"I pretend I heard nothing, swallow that sentence back into your stomach."
In an instant, Jun Beibei felt the surrounding light dimmed, the once scorching air suddenly condensed cold.
And her pounding heart fell into a dried soil, causing tiny cracks.
"Oh."
Jun Beibei lowered her gaze, responded, trying to suppress the choke in her throat, trying to assume her usual cold and indifferent tone.
Then she heard the sea cucumber above continue speaking:
"How many times have been said, don't set a flag, don't set a flag, classmate Jun Beibei, why don't you listen.
"Is now the time to say such things? What do you mean by 'after leaving here'? Is such a thing to be said at this critical moment?
"Do you realize how serious the consequences of celebrating halftime are?
"Did you not see the bubbling pot of seafood stew down below? You've got a shell, you're smooth, you're not afraid, but I'm so exposed as a bare spine, I'm afraid of the heat, alright? Please refrain from saying such disturbing things."
After rambling a bunch, Wen Nan softly added a sentence:
"Once we're out..."
Once we're out, you ask again, I'll say yes.
This sentence reached his mouth, just started, Wen Nan froze.
He suddenly realized, Jun Beibei's previous sentence was just a small flag held in hand, but his own sentence, was practically a giant flag carried on horseback.
Is this to be spoken?
Better shut up now, Ye Shenshen.
Wen Nan swallowed the latter half of the sentence harshly back into his belly.
However, even if Wen Nan stopped just after the beginning, Jun Beibei's face immediately cleared of gloom.
The heart originally smashed into the dry soil, revitalized, started beating again, pumping blood and nurturing small red flowers into bloom.
"Mm."
Jun Beibei lowered her gaze once more, responded again, trying to suppress the smile at her lips, trying to assume her usual cold and indifferent tone.
The mist around them gradually thinned, Wen Nan withdrew his gaze from Jun Beibei's face below, looked around, realizing they were almost past the edge of the pot, officially entering the outside world.
The true, outside world.
Light ignited in Jun Beibei's eyes, she tried hard to extend the hem of her skirt upward, like a pair of snail antennae, swaying eagerly, anxious to see exactly what the outside looks like.
Wen Nan chuckled, lifted his spine, hooked the soft flesh of her skirt hem, pulling it upwards to his side, helping her better stabilize her view.
This posture made the tender soft flesh of the shell stick with the sea cucumber's black skin, Jun Beibei suddenly felt a breathless panic, her skin began to burn, the skirt hem writhing, wanting to escape a bit farther from him.
Such movement made the three pieces of seafood hanging on a piece of seaweed rock like a swing, back and forth.
A moment later, a tearing sound like the ripping of fabric suddenly came from above.
Both looked up simultaneously, discovering the piece of seaweed failed to bear the load, tearing a gap.
"Stop moving." Wen Nan said solemnly, extending a spine to tightly hook the shell's skirt hem, embracing it in his arms.
The shell's lips slightly curled up, stopped writhing her body, but her skirt edges quietly reached out, trying to sneak around from his sides, to wrap that sea cucumber with a self-deemed hidden motion.
Wen Nan felt the soft shell flesh approaching from both sides of his body but pretended not to notice, waiting for her to embrace him.
However, instead of receiving a soft hug, came a full force whip lash.
Swoosh—snap!
Ear-piercing breaking sound echoed by his ear, followed by the stinging caused by the whip landing on him.